Reuven Paz

Reuven Paz was born in 1950 in Haifa

Reuven Paz was born in Haifa in 1950 and attended the Hebrew Reali School there. His grandfather, Saadia Paz, was among the early members of the Hashomer organization.

He studied Middle Eastern studies and Arabic at the University of Haifa. He finished his first degree in 1974 and his second degree in 1989. He later earned a Ph.D. there in Middle Eastern history, with a dissertation based on his knowledge of Hamas.

After his military service, he joined the Israel Security Agency in 1971 as a desk officer in the northern region. In 1982 he helped found its research unit and focused on Hamas and the Islamic Movement in Israel, interviewing jailed leaders such as Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. In 1988 he was the first to publish a Hebrew translation of the Hamas charter.

From 1989 to 1998 he lectured in Middle Eastern history at the University of Haifa. He left the Israel Security Agency in 1994 and headed the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya from 1997 to 2000. He founded the Project for the Research of Islamist Movements, wrote 4 books, and testified as an expert in 19 terrorism cases in United States courts.

He was married to Daniela, and they had 2 children. After their divorce he was in a relationship with director Linda Michel until his death in 2015.